


Kisses Like Chocolate

by larrymylove



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Louis is Gemma's best friend, M/M, and chocolate, and harry may be a little bit in love with louis, and louis may be a little bit in love with harry, and loves to tormet harry, and sweetness, and there's lots of fluff, and they sort of hate each other, except for the fact that they don't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 07:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4426640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larrymylove/pseuds/larrymylove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is Gemma's best friend, and he absolutely loves to torment Harry. And Harry and Louis sort of hate each other, except they don't. Not really. And Harry may be a little bit in love with Louis, and Louis may be a little bit in love with Harry. Who knew it'd take Louis moving in with them for the summer for the them to realize this. </p><p>Or, the one where Louis has to move in with The Styles for the summer, and Harry and Louis finally realize their true feelings for each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kisses Like Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on this one all day. Literally. All. Day. I started it at like 2pm and it's just now 1:54am as I am writing this note. And I am exhausted. But overall, I am very, very pleased with this! I know I've been sort of absent lately. Inspiration just has seemed to have abandoned me. But this idea came to me earlier and I knew I had to write it for you all. I really hope you enjoy it!

Harry can’t exactly pinpoint when it happened. Actually, he can. But it’s weird, so he’s not sure if that should count. But basically, one night he went to sleep like any other night. And somewhere in the course of his slumber, he’d had a dream. A dream in which he was making out with Louis Tomlinson - as in, the Louis Tomlinson, Gemma’s best friend and Harry’s worst nightmare. And he’d awoken, confused and hard. A horrible combination, if he’s honest. It’s just...Louis is the worst. The _absolute_ worst! Harry hates him. And it’s not like his hatred is unjustified. Louis has been making Harry’s life a living hell since he moved in next door five years ago. And of course he and Gemma would become attached at the hip. And of course Louis would do anything in his power to make Harry’s life miserable. So the fact that Harry suddenly had a dream about making out with Louis, and then had awoken hard, made him nauseous.

That had been several months ago. And since then, his feelings towards Louis were all jumbled. It was easy when it was just hatred. Hatred was easy. He could handle hatred. But now it was also attraction. And well. That was definitely _not_ easy. Not in the least. And Harry had no idea what to do with himself over it. And Louis wasn’t exactly making things easier on Harry either. Not when, randomly mid-semester he’d hit puberty and was no longer the twinky little thing with tight colorful pants pants and button-ups. Not when he grew his hair shaggy and started wearing black skinny jeans and skater t-shirts. Not when he always dressed as though he’d raided a Vans store. Not when he’d basically come into his own and was even more confident and cocky than before.

The pranks started out harmless at first, really. And Louis had just been this small annoyance in his life when he’d first moved in next door. At first it was just small things like dumping his underwear drawer out onto his bed when he’d come over to hang out with Gemma. Sometimes he’d replace Harry’s toothpaste with hemorrhoid cream. Then somehow, the pranks got more severe as time went on. It wasn’t unusual for Harry to wake up and go downstairs to find that his car had been covered in shoe-polish penises.

Not to mention there was one instance in which Louis had slept over and Harry had awoken to find his bedroom totally boobie-trapped. Like, we’re talking Parent Trap cabin prank boobie-trapped. And Harry had wound up with a bucket of chocolate pudding dumped on his head.

Harry had tried to talk to Gemma about it. But of course, she just smiled and told him ‘that’s just how Lou is, Harry.’ Which Harry didn’t appreciate whatsoever. He knew Louis was a good friend to Gems so he supposed he couldn’t hate him too much. When Gemma’s date stood her up one Saturday night, Louis had come over and they’d watched funny movies and ate junk food and he held her and told her she was too good for assholes like that. When Gemma was sick with strep last Christmas, Louis had brought over soup and juice and practically all the movies from the local Redbox. So Harry knew Louis was a good person. Somewhere deep down. He also knew that Gemma loved Louis pretty much more than most things in her life. So Harry had to like him a little bit for that.

But that didn’t mean Harry didn’t think he was a complete and utter dick at times. Because he really was. Like, just that morning Harry had gone to get into his car - a car that was his pride and joy, a car that he had gotten for his birthday just as Gemma had when she had turned sixteen - to find it covered in shoe polish again with the words, “I LIKE BIG COCK AND I CANNOT LIE” painted on the back window.

And Harry had fumed and had trudged inside the house to get paper towels and Windex from under the sink.

“Oh dear,” his mother sighed as she wiped her hands on a dish towel, “What’s he written this time, love?”

“You don’t want to know,” Harry sighed. He knew if Louis was actually doing something cruel, his parents would put a stop to it immediately. But Louis never crossed that invisible line from menace to cruel. In fact, it was something Harry caught himself admiring sometimes. But because his pranks were things that never were damaging or traumatizing, Harry’s parents just would shake their head and mutter, “boys” under their breaths.

“Yikes,” Gemma giggled, coming up behind him with her bag swung over her shoulder, “He got you again, huh?”

“He’s a complete shit, Gemma,” Harry sighed, squirting the window with more Windex, “Like, how are you even his friend?” Harry knew the answer to that question even as he asked it. Because Louis was a good friend. And Louis was kind and funny and just _a nice guy._ Harry just bore the brunt of the menace side of him.

“You have to admit, that is kind of funny though,” Gemma smirked, unlocking her own car, “He’s coming over after school today. We are going to study for our History final. I’ll try to keep him focused on studying and not trying to mess with you, deal?”

“Fine,” Harry grumbled, “What exam do you have today?”

“French,” Gemma scrunched her nose, “Only three more days left though until it’s officially summer break. Three more days - I keep telling myself there’s a light at the end of this tunnel, baby brother. But so far, I just can’t see it. What exam do you have?”

“Algebra,” Harry rolled his eyes, “It’s not so bad, just...I want it to be over with. Ready for summer break.”

Gemma and nodded and slid into her car before taking off. Harry sometimes wondered if it was a bit excessive that they had two cars. But Gemma often stayed after school for her extracurriculars or would take off with her friends for off-campus lunch - a perk of being an upperclassman. Harry sighed and continued to wipe at the shoe polish. He didn’t know why he didn’t just get Louis back one of these days. He should. It’d be totally unexpected. But Harry always did suck at pranks. His best friend Niall always told him so. So Harry had just sort of stopped trying. The last prank he’d pulled had been when Niall’d slept over a few years ago and Harry had tricked him into drinking a kale smoothie.

The more Harry wiped at the shoe polish, the more he thought maybe he should try his hand at pranks again. Louis wouldn’t even see it coming, which would be perfect. It would be totally unexpected and wonderful and Harry almost couldn’t wait. Now, though, he just had to think up a prank. But first, Algebra exam!

Harry finished his exam with forty minutes of exam time to spare. No one was allowed to leave class until all the exams were turned in, so he had to just sit at his desk. It left with him with a good amount of time to think up pranks he could pull on Louis. He tapped the eraser end of his pencil to his desk as the cogs turned in his head. He could easily shoe polish dirty messages on Louis’ car. But that might be a little too copycat-ish for Harry’s taste. And he wanted a prank that would impress Louis, not make Louis think Harry was a little kid trying to copy him. And Harry felt enough like a little kid around Louis anyway even if he was just six months younger.

He could do something sometime when Louis came over. He was over often enough anyway. Like today. Today Louis would be over to study with Gemma. Harry could definitely do something then. He’d start off small. Just something small to test the waters a bit. And then the idea struck him. He would offer Louis a soda and give him one that he’d shaken up. And it’d explode and he’d be all wet and sticky! Harry had to put his knuckle between his teeth to keep from giggling out loud.

After school, when he got home, he found Gemma and Louis already there. They were sitting on the couch, watching a rerun of Friends on TV. The timing could not have been more perfect. Harry tossed his backpack down on the floor and hollered to them -

“Hey, do you guys want a soda or anything?”

“I’ll take a soda,” Gemma turned to Louis, “Lou, you want something?”

“Soda, if you’re offering,” Louis turned his attention back to the TV.

“We’re taking a little break from school before we start studying,” Gemma explained, “Apparently Mr. Ruther’s history exams are the worst. We have a full night in front of us, don’t we?”

“I’ll be mumbling answers to flash cards in my sleep at this rate,” Louis rolled his eyes and Harry went to the kitchen to grab the sodas. He set one carefully on the counter while shaking the other vigorously.

Once the liquid inside calmed down, he carried the cans over to the living room, handing the shaken one to Louis. Louis set it down on the coffee table and Gemma popped open hers and took a sip.

“Thanks, Haz,” she smiled, “We’re gonna be studying in the kitchen at the table. So you can study in here if you want. What exam do you have tomorrow?”

“Biology.”

“Ew,” Louis made a face, “You have Mr. Simpson, right? He’s the worst!”

“He’s not so bad…” Harry played with the hem of his shirt, not really ever knowing what to say when Louis tried to have a conversation with him. When they talked, it was always hurried and awkward.

“ _You_ would think that,” Louis rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the TV. Gemma shot Harry a small smile and he headed over to collect his backpack and go to his room to study. As much as he wanted to hover and see Louis covered in soda, he didn’t want to be too obvious. So he made his way upstairs.

Once in his bedroom, Harry spread out on his comforter and opened up his biology textbooks and notebooks. He was so ready for exams to be over with. He was a decent student, but still all the studying was stressful. He would be so happy when summer break would finally get here and he could spend the next few months relaxing. Relaxing and trying to survive Louis, but at least the stress of school would be out of the picture, right? He was copying down some vocab words when suddenly there was a shriek from downstairs. Louis must have opened the soda.

Harry ran to the hallway, not quite standing at the top of the stairs, and listened as Louis was shouting and muttering and Gemma was saying, “Shit, shit! Lou! _Shit!_ ” And Harry bit bit down on his bottom lip hard to keep from laughing.

“He did that on purpose!” Louis shouted, “I _know_ he did!”

“You don’t know that…”

“Yes I do! Fuck! My notes are ruined, Gem!”

At that, Harry froze. No. No. Louis was meant to open the soda on the couch. Not at the table. Not while he was studying. Harry’s face drained as he heard Louis storming towards the stairs. Harry backed up and ran back into his bedroom. He jumped down onto his bed and reopened his notebook and pretended to be copying more vocab words when his bedroom door flung open so hard that it banged against the wall.

Harry glanced up and saw Louis standing there. He had a notebook in his hand - a notebook that was dripping brown, sticky liquid. And shit. Harry really, _really_ hadn’t meant for anything to get ruined. Fuck. This was just his luck. None of Louis’ pranks ever left any of Harry’s property actually damaged. Shit!

“You little shit!” Louis flung the soggy notebook onto Harry’s bed, “Those were my notes for my exam tomorrow! And they’re ruined! A whole semester’s worth of notes destroyed! What the fuck, Harry!”

Harry gingerly lifted the notebook off his bed, “Louis...I am so, _so_ sorry. I didn’t...I thought...you were supposed to open the soda when I gave it to you!”

Louis’ jaw dropped. He shut his eyes for a moment and Harry knew this was bad. After a second, Louis opened his eyes and said with utter disbelief, “Are you _actually_ trying to turn this back on me? Hazza, you _destroyed_ my history notes! I needed these to study from! There was a whole _week’s_ worth of notes that Gem missed when she was sick a few weeks ago. We needed those notes! This doesn’t just affect me, but her as well.”

Fuck. Harry felt miserable. He wanted to just melt into a puddle on his bed. He wanted to disappear. He hadn’t meant for things to go this wrong. It was just supposed to be a prank. A harmless little prank. A shaken soda was meant to be nothing in comparison to what Louis had done to him the past few years. But it had ended up being so much worse. Harry put his face in his hands, just wanting to hide.

“You’re unbelievable, you know that, right?” Louis asked and Harry felt like he’d just been slapped, “Your first prank and you go and do something like this? This isn’t a prank, Harry. This is serious. You didn’t just affect me, but Gemma as well. What if we fail this exam because of you?”

Harry made some sort of noise that sounded much like a kicked animal - which is how he currently felt at the moment. Of course he would mess everything up. Niall was right. He was shit at pranks and should just stay clear from ever trying to prank anyone ever again.

He pulled his hands from his face and said, “Louis, I am so, _so_ sorry. I really...I didn’t mean for anything to get ruined. I really didn’t. I am so, so sorry!”

And just then, Louis began to laugh. Actually laugh. And Harry glanced up, confused. Louis was doubled over, hugging his sides, laughing. His eyes were basically shut and he was giggling like a maniac. And Harry felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him.

“What...I don’t…” Harry’s brow furrowed in confusion.“Your _face!_ ” Louis giggled, “Priceless! Hazza, that notebook is from my English class. I took my English exam two days ago! I knew you did something to that soda. So I opened it over the sink and I was right. It exploded. So I got my old English notebook and mopped up the mess in the sink with it to make you think you’d actually destroyed my History notes. Your face, Hazza! Oh man! _Priceless!_ ”

“You’re kidding,” Harry deadpanned, “You...you actually…”

“I pranked you back. This is what you get, babe, for trying to mess with the master!” Louis snickered again before sashaying out of Harry’s room. Harry glared at the doorway, listening to the sounds of Louis still laughing as he headed down the stairs. Harry grabbed the soggy notebook and chucked it at the door.

 

Dinner was awkward. Harry still felt mortified over his prank backfiring, but his mom had insisted Louis’ stay for dinner. Louis was sitting next to Gemma and across from Harry. He was chatting happily with Harry’s dad, Des, over some movie they had both seen recently. Harry picked at his peas, still upset. He tried to spear one using his fork. It took him about two minutes to spear one little pea. Gemma kept shooting him sympathetic glances.

Then it happened. Suddenly Harry felt the toe of a shoe make contact with his shin. Not painfully enough to hurt or anything. Just...enough. And Harry almost dropped his fork because it was so unexpected. Louis was still talking candidly with Des, but he glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye, giving him a little wink. Harry bit down on his bottom lip and kicked Louis back at the same strength Louis had kicked him. Louis smiled, still not breaking conversation with Des.

And Harry’s mind flurred. Louis kicked back. What even was happening right now? In all the times Louis had stayed over for dinner, this had never happened. Not once. Harry kicked Louis back. Butterflies stirred in the pit of his stomach and he tried to tell them to screw off. Because he absolutely did not want to be getting butterflies over Louis Tomlinson of all people. But it was happening more and more often to Harry’s dismay and it was happening right now.

“So, Louis,” Anne cleared her throat, “Tell me, what are your plans for the summer.”

“Oh,” Louis turned to Harry’s mom, “Well, my parents actually are going on a cruise for the summer. It’s like this whole six-week long excursion thingy,” Louis rolled his eyes slightly, kicking Harry once again, “They want me to go stay with my grandparents in Georgia for the summer. Something about not trusting me to be home alone for that long or something,” Louis rolled his eyes again.

“Wonder why,” Harry muttered.

Louis kicked him a little harder for that comment, “But I’m trying to convince them otherwise. I don’t want to go to Georgia for the summer. I want to stay here.”

“I can understand that,” Anne nodded, “Gemma would be lost without you!”

“Mom!” Gemma snapped, “Please. I would not.”

“Sure you would,” Louis grinned, poking her in the side, “Wouldn’t know what to do without me.”

“Why don’t you stay here?” Des asked, and Harry choked on his bite of chicken.

“What?” Harry and Louis both asked in unison.

“Stay here,” Des repeated, “We have a spare bedroom no one uses. You’re over here so often as it is, it really would be no different. We wouldn’t mind having you, Louis. You’re always welcome in our home.”

And okay. Wait. _What?_ Harry took a sip of water to keep from choking again. This was not happening. This could not be happening. He could barely survive seeing Louis for a few hour at a time. Much less have him living with them for a whole summer! There was no way. Harry just knew if Louis agreed to this, it’d be the death of him.

“A-are you sure?” Louis stammered. The kicking had stopped as soon as Des had made the suggestion, “I wouldn’t want to impose on you all.”

“Not an imposition at all,” Anne reached over to squeeze Louis’ hand, “Really, sweetheart. You are always, always welcome here. And Gemma has that job at the drive-in that starts up next week. Maybe you can see about working there with her? It’ll be fun having you here, Lou. You’re like a fixture here already.”

“Well...I’ll have to ask my parents. But, if you’re certain, I’d love to stay with you!”

Harry couldn’t contain it anymore. He started coughing again and reached for his water.

“You alright there, love?” Louis raised a brow.

“Just...fine,” Harry gagged. He took a huge gulp of water and tried to tell himself not to freak out. Nothing was set in stone yet. Jay and Dan could very well say no to this arrangement. There was no reason to completely panic just yet.

“He’s just excited,” Gemma smiled, winking at Harry, “to have you stay with us for a _whole_ summer.” Harry made a mental note to kill her later.

“I bet,” Louis turned back to Harry. He was smiling in that bright-eyed, crinkly way that made Harry’s stomach dip. He raised his brows playfully as he said, “We’ll be good friends before too much longer, Hazza. I’ll see to that.”

It took all Harry’s strength not to groan and put his head on the table.

 

Louis’ parents ended up saying yes. They left a week later, and Louis was moving into the spare bedroom just like that. He didn’t bring over much - just his video game systems and a bunch of games, and his clothes. Harry stood off to the side of the living room and watched as Louis had trudged in with his duffle bag swung over one shoulder and his pillow tucked under an arm.

“Hazza, will you help me with this please?” Louis asked. Gemma shut the front door behind him and Harry wondered why he didn’t just ask her to help. “I’m about to drop this stupid duffle. Grab the pillow from me and carry it up to the spare bedroom please?”

Harry did as he was asked. He followed behind Louis, up the stairs, and to the spare room. He held Louis’ pillow tight against his chest and tried not to be too creepy and breathe deeply to inhale the smell of it - boy shampoo and musky sweat.

“Just set it there on the bed,” Louis flung the duffle onto the bed, “Wanna be a pal and help me unpack?”

“Um…” Harry shot a glance to the door. Gemma hadn’t followed them. Why Louis wasn’t getting her to help him was beyond Harry. But he found himself nodding in agreement anyway. “Great,” Louis smiled, unzipping the duffle, “I am such a slob but I’m gonna really make an effort not to be this summer. Not while I’m living here, anyway. Just uh...hand me t-shirts out of there and I’ll hang them in the closet.”

Harry grabbed the first balled up t-shirt. He shook it out and passed it over to Louis who slipped a hanger through it and hung it on the rod in the closet.

“I meant what I said the other night,” Louis said, hanging up another shirt, “about how I want us to be friends. I will still prank you though and be as much as a little shit as I can be to you, because well. It’s fun. But I do want us to be friends, Haz. Gemma and I are so close and it’d be a shame if you and I didn’t at least make some effort to be friends.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, “Okay.” Friends seemed better than nothing, right? Harry would take that.

“Yay!” Louis grinned, catching a t-shirt Harry tossed to him, “I officially rule that you and I are now officially friends, Harry Edward Styles!”

“Christ,” Harry rolled his eyes, “What are you, king now?”

“King Louis!”

“The Sun King,” Harry mummered, not really meaning to say it outloud.

Louis didn’t hang the shirt right away. He tilted his head to the side and smiled a little. “I like that,” he said after a beat. It wasn’t cocky or petulant in anyway. It was just...quiet. And Harry nodded, meeting Louis’ eyes and smiling in return.

 

“You’re sure I won’t be like...a third wheel or anything?” Harry asked nervously, feeling stupid for even asking in the first place. Louis rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. Gemma was the one to answer -

“Of course not, Harry! It’ll be fun! We’ve never just done anything the three of us,” she slid into the driver’s seat, “Look, you can even get shotgun.”

“ _What?_ ” Louis cried as Harry slipped past him, into the passenger seat of Gemma’s car, “Oh, hell no!”

“Lou,” Gemma fixed him with a look, “Anyway, we want you with us, Harry,” she lowered her voice as Louis slipped into the backseat behind Harry, “Besides, Lou really wants to make more of an effort to be friends with you. Really.”

Harry rolled his eyes. It had been Louis’ suggestion that they go see Jurassic World. The three of them had been hanging out in the living room. Harry had been reading in the armchair and Louis and Gemma had been playing some video game. Suddenly, Louis had put down the controller and announced that they go see Jurassic World. He and Gemma had checked movie times and had stood up to take off when Louis had snatched the book from Harry’s hands, dog-eared the page, tossed the book onto the coffee table, and said -

“Well? You coming or not, H?” And Harry supposed that counted as an invitation in Louis’ book.

Louis had been staying with them for a week now. He had gotten a job at the drive-in with Gemma and Harry hadn’t seen much of them really. But when he did, it seemed like they made more of an effort to include him. Louis would ask him what movie he’d want to watch at night, and Gemma would make the three of them cupcakes at 2am just because. But still though, Harry felt like it was LouisandGemma and he was an extra. An afterthought.

They were about one minute into the drive when Louis began to kick at the back of Harry’s seat. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to shoot him a glare. Louis just giggled, still kicking.

“Are you three?” Harry asked, annoyed. Though there was one small fraction of him that savored the attention.

“Maybe,” Louis giggled, “ ‘s what you get for taking my throne.”

“Your _throne?_ ” Gemma choked, “Really, Lou.”

“Yes. I am the Sun King, right Harold?”

“Christ,” Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

“And Harold here has taken my throne! And must be punished thoroughly for it!”

“Oh my God,” Gemma dead-panned as Louis kicked the back of Harry’s seat harder. This time though, he leaned forward after kicking and yanked at one of Harry’s curls.

“Ow!” Harry turned to slap at Louis’ hand.

“Okay!” Gemma shouted over the two of them, “Do I have to pull this car over? I swear to God, Louis! I will make your ass walk the rest of the way if you don’t chill!”

Harry smirked, turning around to face Louis, and muttered, “You got yelled at!”

Louis made a face. Gemma smacked Harry on the thigh.

“You got hit!” Louis mimicked Harry’s tone.

“Both of you are going to drive me to drink, I swear!” Gemma scolded, “I’m putting on some music. Both of you just shut up and behave or I’m not going to pay for concessions.”

When they got to the theater, Gemma went to the restroom, leaving Harry and Louis alone in the hallway between the concessions stand and the theaters. They sunk down on a bench together, and Harry picked at a hangnail. He and Louis hadn’t had much alone time since Louis had moved in. And Harry had been sort of grateful for that with how awkward things had a tendency to be when they were.

“Hey,” Louis said.

“Hi,” Harry glanced up from his finger and met Louis’ eyes.

“I’m glad we’re doing something the three of us,” Louis said, “it’s kind of nice. You aren’t too annoying to have around.”

“Gee, thanks,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Really,” Louis bumped Harry’s knee with his own. He looked as though he was about to say more, but Gemma came out of the restroom and they headed to get concessions. Nothing else was said on the matter.

 

That night, Harry couldn’t fall asleep. He could hear Louis and Gemma still awake and talking in the guest room next to his - which now he was starting to refer to as “Louis’ Room.” He tried not to listen in, but it was difficult. He could hear muffled laughter and the sound of what he figured was Gemma smacking Louis with a pillow. And something stirred inside of Harry’s stomach that he couldn’t quite exactly explain. But it resembled jealousy.

And it was ridiculous. He knew it was. Louis was not attracted to girls in any way, shape, or form. And Gemma was clearly not interested in Louis in any other way than just being friends. But there was that unmistakeable stinging twinge of jealousy that crept through Harry. And he hated that. Hated that he was jealous. Hated that they were in the next room giggling and talking. And he wanted that. He wanted that so desperately with Louis that he practically ached with it. The movie had been good that afternoon, and they had even gone out to dinner all three of them afterwards. And Louis and Harry had kicked each other under the table again and Louis had licked Harry’s slice of pizza and Gemma had smacked Louis with her menu and it’d been good. They’d all laughed and had fun and Harry felt like a part of them. But now, hearing them in the next room over, he felt unmistakably sour.

He knew it wasn’t fair. Louis and Gem had been friends for years. They were attached at the hip. If they did fight, which was rare, it only ever lasted a few hours. They could practically read each other without speaking and they just got each other. And while Harry had those things with Gemma (she was his sister after all) he wanted that closeness with Louis too. He wanted to read Louis without words. He wanted to make Louis giggle and share secrets at all hours of the night. And all these feelings of attraction and crushes had only gotten worse since Louis had moved in. There was no escaping them. There was no break from them when Louis would go back home at the end of the day - because Louis was always there. And Harry always had to see him and always had to feel the butterflies stirring in his stomach. And there was no peace, no rest. Even in his sleep, there were still dreams. Dreams of kissing Louis. Dreams of holding Louis. Dreams Harry wished and hoped and prayed every night he wouldn’t have and always did.

He heard the door click shut. Gemma must have gone back to her own room. Harry sighed, looking up at the ceiling and watching the fan spin. He just needed to try to get some rest and push all thoughts of Louis Tomlinson out of his head. Which was easier said than done. With Louis sleeping just in the room next door, Harry often thought of Louis puttering around before bed, envisioned the steady rise and fall of Louis’ chest as he breathed heavily in his sleep. Harry rolled his eyes at these thoughts. Why was he like this? He sort of wanted to slap himself.

There was a soft knock on his bedroom door. Thinking it was Gem, Harry called softly, “Come in.” He was surprised to see Louis shutting the door behind him.

“Oh, hi,” Harry propped up against his pillows so he wasn’t laying down.

“Budge over,” Louis instructed, and Harry scootched over to the other side of the bed. Louis plopped down next to him, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Harry blinked, trying to process what was happening. He sort of wanted to pinch himself. Was Louis Tomlinson really laying in his bed right now? Harry hoped that his heart wasn’t beating so loudly that Louis could hear it.

“Did we keep you awake?” Louis asked, staring up at the ceiling. Neither one of them turned to face the other, “The walls are thin. I was hoping we were quiet.”

“It’s fine,” Harry watched the ceiling fan, “Really. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

“I just wanted to talk to Gem for a bit about some things.”

“Mmm,” Harry hummed, not really knowing what to say in this situation. This whole thing was weird, weird, weird. But he liked it - liked having Louis laying in his bed next to him. Liked the press of Louis’ shoulder against his.

“I wanted to talk to her about you,” Louis said, his voice even quieter.

“Me?” Harry’s eyes went wide, “Why me?”

“Because,” Louis shrugged, “I just...I dunno. It’s dumb.”

“It’s not dumb,” Harry insisted, “Tell me.”

“I just...I always am pranking you and messing with you because I like it when you pay attention to me and I don’t really know why that is. I like having your undivided attention even if it’s just through you yelling at me for something. And I am just trying to figure out what that means, okay? But for the past few years, that’s why I’ve been doing things to you. Because I like when I have your attention.”

Harry felt as though his mind had gone swimmy. What did that even mean? Louis messed with him just so...so what? So that Harry would yell at him? Pay attention to him? Notice him? Nothing made sense. Harry felt as though something had come along and tipped his world upside down like a snowglobe and all these fluffy bits were flying every which way and he could barely see or process what was going on.

“Lou…”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Not until I’ve figured it out myself. That’s not fair to you…”

“Lous, it’s fine,” Harry insisted, “Really. You can um...you can always talk to me if you want to or need to. I’m here for you, okay? Don’t feel guilty about telling me this. I’m glad you did.”

“ ‘s not fair though,” Louis sighed and Harry had to fight from reaching out to touch his arm or his cheek, “to unload this on you without me even really knowing what it all means. I just...I sort of just wanted you to know. To put that out there.”

“Well, if we’re going to be putting things out there…” Harry took a deep breath, “...I like when you mess with me and prank me and stuff because I like when I have your undivided attention. I think...I think I like having your attention as much as you like having mine.” Harry dared cast a glance to Louis. He saw him still looking at the fan, but a soft smile had spread across his face. Harry could see his eyes twinkle even in the darkness.

“Good,” Louis nodded finally, “That’s...good then.”

He pushed himself off Harry’s bed, and Harry had to fight not to reach out for him and tell him ‘no, please stay.’ Instead though, Harry turned to watch Louis head towards the door.

“Get some good sleep, Hazza. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Y-yeah,” Harry cleared his throat, trying to still wrap his head around everything that had just happened, “You too, Lou.”

 

The next two weeks progressed without much of a change. Louis and Gem would go to the drive-in every morning and would come home around six every night - just in time for dinner. Sometimes Harry would drag Niall with him to the drive-in just to see Louis (though he’d never admit that) and they’d have milkshakes and sometimes Louis would bring out an extra in a child sized cup, saying that “we accidentally made too much, so here.” And Niall would just fix Harry with a look and Harry would smile and say, “Thanks, Lou.” Harry passed the days reading and sometimes walking Mrs. Henderson’s dog for her when she needed him to. He liked having the days to himself though. He also spent a lot of time with Niall, having him over for video games and movie days.

Things between Louis and Harry stayed about the same though. The pranking had eased up slightly. Louis still pranked Harry every chance he got, but the pranks were lighter. Nothing as harsh or as out there as dicks painted on Harry’s windows. They were definitely more light-hearted, but more frequent. And when Harry would pout afterwards or yell at Louis, Louis would wrap his arms around Harry in a tight hug and say, “Oh, love!” And Harry didn’t know why, but he liked that very, very much.

It was the end of the third week of Louis’ staying with them that things started to get a little more intense. They suddenly became a lot more physical with each other almost overnight. It started one day when they had both found themselves in the kitchen after the same snack - the very last Oreo in the package. They’d both reached for it at the same time and Harry had grabbed it quickly and popped the Oreo into his mouth, staring at Louis the whole time. He’d felt quite accomplished when Louis let out an offended gasp.

“You have three seconds.”

“To do what?” Harry had asked around a mouthful of Oreo.

“Run,” Louis had raised his brows and Harry had darted towards the living room. He found himself pinned underneath Louis on the couch, Louis straddling his hips and tickling him mercilessly until Harry was a complete giggling, begging mess beneath him. And the whole time, Harry could only think _oh my god stop stop stop please don’t ever stop oh my god!_  And Louis had finally, finally relented, resting his hands on Harry’s hips. And Harry had still been giggling even after Louis had stopped and Louis had just smiled and shook his head saying -

“That’s what you get for taking the last Oreo, love. Hope you learned your lesson.”

After that, it was as if they had suddenly become addicted to touching each other. And no, not in any sort of creepy way - Christ! It was just, Harry and Louis both seemed to find excuses or reasons to touch each other. They would sit together during movies and their knees would press against each other. They’d still kick each other under the table at dinner time. They could be helping Gemma bake cookies and Louis would come up behind Harry and press his hand to the small of Harry’s back, glancing over his shoulder and staring into the mixing bowl. Sometimes when they would be on the couch watching TV or just hanging out, Louis would drape his legs over Harry’s thighs as if he’d done it a hundred times in the past. And Harry would place his hands onto of Louis’ legs and they would just sit there like that in silence.

And Harry felt like every little touch shared with Louis was like a bolt of electricity. And he loved the little sparks that would shoot through his body every time they made contact. He lived for it actually - loved the way Louis would playfully tug at a loose curl. Or would poke him in the ribs when he’d pass by him. Loved the way all of Louis’ attention was on him. And Harry knew Louis loved it too. Loved having all of Harry’s attention. So Harry tried to do the same for Louis. He’d walk past him and brush his hand over Louis’ arm. Or he would come up behind him and put his chin on Louis’ shoulder. Sometimes he’d just walk up to Louis and pinch him on the hip, and Louis would wiggle and shoot Harry with a glare and giggle. And sometimes Harry would even rest his head on Louis’ shoulder during movie nights.

Gemma made fun of them for it all the time - saying how adorable they were and asking them when the wedding was. These sorts of things would make them both blush and turn away. And they’d get really quiet for a few minutes after. And Gemma would just sigh and say, “I was kidding you know.” Anne and Des were noticing too. Anne asked Harry several times what was going on between him and Louis, and Harry would insist “nothing!” Even though they both knew that was a complete and utter lie. Because something was definitely going on between them. They just didn’t really know what just yet. And Harry was too scared to approach Louis about it. Especially since he’d never had anything like this before. And he had no idea how to approach the subject at all. But he just felt that there was this unnamed thing buzzing between the two of them. It was unmistakably there. And they both could feel it.

One night, Harry couldn’t sleep again. He found himself laying awake staring at his ceiling fan yet again. And after about an hour, he’d had enough of that and decided to head downstairs. It was late - almost two in the morning - but he found himself standing in the middle of the kitchen making a batch of cupcakes. He figured he got that from Gem - the need to bake whenever stressed or upset about something. Not that he was really upset or anything. Just confused and jumbly.

He had just finished letting a catch cool when someone padded into the kitchen. Harry turned around to see Louis standing in the doorway, wiping sleepily at his eye. He looked half asleep still and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light.

“I smelled chocolate,” he said and Harry couldn’t help but giggle.

“I’m baking cupcakes,” Harry explained, “They actually just finished baking a while ago. I’m going to ice them now. Do you want to help, maybe?”

Louis nodded and Harry waved him over to the counter, “All we have is can icing, but it’ll do. Just grab a spatula and dig in there. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. It’s almost three in the morning. Doesn’t have to be perfect.”

“Why are you baking at three in the morning,” Louis asked, yawning as he spread some icing from his can onto a cupcake.

“Couldn’t sleep and I just figured why not.”

“Sound logic,” Louis nodded. He dipped the spatula into the can again and licked it off. Harry made a gagging noise and Louis just quirked a brow.

“That’s so gross, Lou!” Harry protested, “Because now you got your germs all over it!”

“So?” Louis shrugged, “Who else is going to eat the cupcakes, Harold? In case you didn’t realize, it’s just us. Gem’s asleep. Your parents are asleep.”

“You really are not possibly going to eat a whole batch of cupcakes tonight, Lou.”

“Of course not, Harold. You’re going to help me.”

“Just...ice the cupcakes. And don’t lick the spatula again until we’re finished.”

Louis rolled his eyes but went back to icing. They stood next to each other at the counter, bumping elbows and hips and shooting each other shy little glances. And Harry could feel it stronger than ever now - that unnamed thing. The electric buzz. He almost couldn’t stand it - being so close to Louis and not being able to just reach out and grab him and kiss him. He ached so badly to just do that. To just press Louis against the counter. Harry bit his bottom lip hard, icing his cupcakes and trying not to focus too hard on the boy next to him.

Once the cupcakes were done, Louis grabbed the spatula and licked one long stripe up the chocolate-covered tip. And Harry rolled his eyes because really? Was that even necessary? No. Absolutely not. But Harry found himself reaching for his own spatula and giving it a small little lick. Louis popped the whole thing of his into his mouth and pulled it out with a loud smack. He had chocolate icing on the corners of his lips. And before Harry really knew what he was doing, he found himself licking his thumb and reaching out to wipe the chocolate from Louis’ mouth.

As his hand neared Louis’ mouth, Louis’ eyes went wide. They locked glances and Harry wiped the chocolate from the corners of Louis’ mouth. And something happened. Something stirred, shifted. Suddenly, this thing between them had made its presence very, very known. And Louis’ pupils were blown and Harry was certain his were too. They didn’t dare break apart from staring at one another. Harry set the spatula down on the counter, still with eyes locked onto Louis’. Harry could hear the pulse beating in his ears and he was certain Louis could hear it too. Everything just shifted after that moment.

“Hi,” Louis said, his voice so soft as if he were afraid it would crack something.

“Hi,” Harry replied, his voice soft as well. This moment...this moment felt so incredibly intimate. For all the times they had touched, all the times they had practically been on top of each other, this was the most intimate moment between them. And Harry wanted nothing to ruin that.

“I think...I think I’d really like to kiss you now,” Louis said.

“I think I’d really for you to kiss me now.”

Harry barely completed the sentence before Louis reached up, pulling Harry down slightly by the nape of his neck. Their kiss tasted of chocolate and sweetness and goodness and sugar. And Harry felt as though he were on a sugar high from it when they broke apart. They both let out a breathy laugh, their lips still so close they were practically touching. And Harry reached out to run his fingers along Louis’ jawline.

“I think maybe I wanted to do that for a few years now,” Louis admitted, wincing slightly.

“I think maybe I wanted you to do that for a few years now,” Harry blushed.

“I’m gonna kiss you again now.”

“I’m gonna let you.”

The second kiss was more intense than the first. They weren’t as shy with each other this time. This time, it was all tongue and little bites and breathy moans into mouths. And when their kiss slowed, they laughed against each other.

“Can’t believe it took me so long to do that,” Louis gently ran a hand through Harry’s curls.

Harry felt as though everything in the kitchen had become a fog and the only clearing was where they stood. Everything was clear with Louis - so clear. And Harry knew in that moment he wanted it all with Louis. Everything. He wanted hugs and kisses and dating and sex and marriage and children and growing old and a house together and a life together. He wanted all those things with this boy standing here before him. And the thought terrified and fascinated him. He was only sixteen. Just sixteen. But he knew from that very first kiss, that Louis was it for him. There would be no others. Just Louis. _Always Louis._

“Somewhere in the course of the last few years, I fell in love with you,” Harry said the words before he could stop himself. And Louis just smiled and swept a hand through Harry’s curls, saying -

“Me too, Hazza. So, so in love with you.”

“Think I maybe always have been,” Harry said, blushing.

Louis kissed him again - rich and sweet like chocolate - before saying, “Think I maybe always will be.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos, and bookmarks make me a happy girl! :)


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